The Jaguar Advanced Lightweight Coupe shows what the next XK might look like. It was shown earlier this year at the Detroit auto show.
Its grille is inspired by the 1961 Jaguar E-Type. The next Jaguar XK will be a hatchback like the E-Type.
The next XK will need a more blunt front bumper in order to comply with new European pedestrian safety regulations.Here is an excerpt from a motorsportscenter.com interview with Henrik Fisker, Aston Martin's Director of Design from 2001 until December of last year.
MotorSportsCenter: Does the V8 Vantage adhere to the
new European safety law regarding pedestrians?Henrik Fisker: The Vantage actually comes out before that law takes effect. Just to give a comment on that - and this is just purely my opinion, not reflecting on Ford Motor Company - but there is a problem today, in my opinion, where you have too many government officials that don't understand the car industry but are making up laws, with good intent, but they end up really lingering the progress of even safety. You are only looking at one aspect; when you force only one aspect on a car, like pedestrian safety, you force the company to spend all their time and resources on that aspect, where if you look at it in a more holistic way - like, for instance, what Volvo has done for years; they have always had an eye on safety. Where does it make the most sense to improve safety? Volvo is the one that came out with a lot of [safety improvements] first, not from government regulations at all. That would be, for me, the better way to do it.
This pedestrian safety restriction, I think, is
a waste of opportunity. And it's going to cost a lot of money, and it is money that will be paid for, in the end, by the consumers.I think there are more innovative ways to deal with [safety]. Maybe some of that will come out; there will be some adjustment - that's my prediction. Unfortunately, we will spend a lot of money in the next few years, but then somebody will realize that maybe that was not the bet ideas, and then there will be some new ideas coming up.
(end of excerpt)
The next XK will use the new XJ's aluminum chassis and it will drop weight while being more rigid than the current XK's steel chassis.[/b]
Many people say that the Jaguar Advanced Lightweight Coupe looks too much like an Aston Martin. One thing I notice about the Jaguar is that its tail tapers off like the current XK while the trunks of new Aston Martins are flat and have that crease around them or have a spoiler like the 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Note: The new Aston Martins have their own new aluminum chassis.
Notice the grille of this Jaguar E-Type.
Here is the Jaguar Advanced Lightweight Coupe.
